3:50 PM @eye.on.palestine GRAYZONE JOURNOS CONFRONT DEMOCRATS VIPS ON GAZA WAR
Behind the scenes at last month’s Democratic National Convention, heavyweight Democrats and AIPAC editor-turned-CNN presenter Wolf Blitzer shrugged off questions that Max Blumenthal, founder and editor of The Grayzone, and Managing Editor Wyatt Reed threw at them about why Democrats have not used their leverage on Israel to stop its military onslaught on Gaza.
Since that encounter, the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced that the pro-Israel lobbying group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has already spent more than $100 million during the current election cycle.
An analysis by The Guardian found that pro-Israel members of Congress received $58 million for their most recent campaigns, money that has shaped the Biden-Harris administration’s policy on the Palestine Question.
Meanwhile, AIPAC has used advertisements to target progressive candidates over their criticism of Israel. AIPAC spent $9.9 million to prevent New York-based congress member Jamaal Bowman, a so-called progressive ‘Squad’ member, from winning the Democratic primaries held in June.
Bowman was one of the first politicians to call for a ceasefire Missouri congressional representative Cori Bush, another member of the ‘Squad, lost her seat after AIPAC spent $5.2 million.
All this comes despite the US public not supporting Israel’s actions. According to a June 2024 Gallup poll, more Americans disapprove than approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza, and their opinions of Netanyahu are also negative.
In a Data for Progress poll in October 2023, 66 per cent of people in the US strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they want the US to use its leverage over Israel to stop the military onslaught.
video and caption via @african_stream